The Best Bang for the Bucks: Rethinking Global Investment in Biodiversity Conservation

Biodiversity loss is a central issue in conservation biology, with protected areas being the primary approach to stop biodiversity loss. However, education has been identified as an important factor in this regard. Based on a database of threatened species and socio-economic features for 138 countries, we tested whether more protected areas or more education investment is associated with a lower proportion of threatened species (for different groups of vertebrates and plants). For this, we fitted generalized linear mixed-effects models (GLMM) to assess the relative importance of socio-economic variables on the proportion of threatened species. We found that education investment was negatively associated with the proportion of threatened species in 2007 and 2017, as well as with their change rates. Conversely, the percentage of protected land was significant for reptiles but showed weak relationships with other groups. Our results suggest that only increasing protected areas will not stop or reduce biodiversity loss, as the context and people’s attitudes towards wildlife also play major roles here. Therefore, investing in education, in addition to protected areas, would have the missing positive effect on achieving effective species conservation actions worldwide.

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The best bang for the bucks: rethinking global investment on biodiversity conservation

10.1101/2020.08.28.272138 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Francisco E. Fontúrbel ◽

Sebastián Cordero ◽

Gabriel J. Castaño-Villa

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Conservation Biology ◽

Threatened Species ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

Lower Proportion ◽

Education Investment ◽

Conservation Actions ◽

People’S Attitudes ◽

Positive Effect

AbstractBiodiversity loss is a central issue in conservation biology, being protected areas the primary approach to stop biodiversity loss. However, education has been identified as an important factor in this regard. Based on a database of threatened species and socio-economic features for 138 countries, we tested whether more protected areas or more education investment are associated with a lower proportion of threatened species (for different groups of vertebrates and plants). We found that education investment was negatively associated with the proportion of threatened species in 2007 and 2017, as well as with their change rates. Conversely, the percentage of protected land was significant for reptiles, but show weak relationships with other groups. Our results suggest that only increasing protected areas will not stop or reduce biodiversity loss, as the context and people’s attitudes towards wildlife also play major roles here. Therefore, investing in education, in addition to protected areas, would have a positive effect missing to achieve effective species conservation actions worldwide.

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Estimating the benefit of well-managed protected areas for threatened species conservation

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605317001739 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 54 (2) ◽

pp. 276-284 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Stephen G. Kearney ◽

Vanessa M. Adams ◽

Richard A. Fuller ◽

Hugh P. Possingham ◽

James E. M. Watson

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Threatened Species ◽

Protected Area ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Area Network ◽

Protected Area Network ◽

Adequate Funding ◽

Conservation Actions ◽

Threat Management ◽

Almost All

AbstractProtected areas are central to global efforts to prevent species extinctions, with many countries investing heavily in their establishment. Yet the designation of protected areas alone can only abate certain threats to biodiversity. Targeted management within protected areas is often required to achieve fully effective conservation within their boundaries. It remains unclear what combination of protected area designation and management is needed to remove the suite of processes that imperil species. Here, using Australia as a case study, we use a dataset on the pressures facing threatened species to determine the role of protected areas and management in conserving imperilled species. We found that protected areas that are not resourced for threat management could remove one or more threats to 1,185 (76%) species and all threats to very few (n = 51, 3%) species. In contrast, a protected area network that is adequately resourced to manage threatening processes within their boundary could remove one or more threats to almost all species (n = 1,551; c. 100%) and all threats to almost half (n = 740, 48%). However, 815 (52%) species face one or more threats that require coordinated conservation actions that protected areas alone could not remove. This research shows that investing in the continued expansion of Australia's protected area network without providing adequate funding for threat management within and beyond the existing protected area network will benefit few threatened species. These findings highlight that as the international community expands the global protected area network in accordance with the 2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, a greater emphasis on the effectiveness of threat management is needed.

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Predator-prey interaction between two threatened species in a Brazilian hotspot

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2015-0059 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Gustavo Rodrigues Canale ◽

Christine Steiner São Bernardo

Keyword(s):

Threatened Species ◽

Conservation Planning ◽

Nest Predation ◽

Wild Population ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Capuchin Monkeys ◽

Egg Predation ◽

Predator Prey ◽

Conservation Actions ◽

Prey Interaction

Conflicts in conservation may arise if two or more threatened species are involved in prey-predator interaction. Predators may have a profound effect on small prey populations, thus conservation actions must consider inter-specific interactions involving threatened species. Here we report nest predation events on a wild population of the Endangered red-billed curassow Crax blumenbachii Spix, 1825 by a group of the Critically Endangered yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys Sapajus xanthosternosWied-Neuwied, 1820 in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. This is the first study to report egg predation of an threatened gamebird by an threatened primate. We recommend that systematic conservation planning for these threatened species consider interactions, especially considering upcoming reintroduction programs indicated in the National Action Plans for these species conservation.

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Corporate support for threatened species recovery efforts: three case studies from the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season

Australian Zoologist ◽

10.7882/az.2020.031 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Matthew Mo ◽

Mike Roache ◽

Tania Reid ◽

Damon L. Oliver ◽

Linda Broome ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

Threatened Species ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Food Storage ◽

Eastern Coast ◽

Flying Foxes ◽

Diverse Range ◽

Species Recovery ◽

Conservation Actions ◽

Corporate Support

ABSTRACT A diverse range of corporations, businesses and organisations play an important role in threatened species conservation. During the unprecedented bushfire season in Australia in the 2019–20 summer, corporations, businesses and organisations contributed significant financial and in-kind support for the Saving our Species Program’s threatened species recovery efforts. On the eastern coast, a combination of food shortages and heat stress events resulted in large numbers of Grey-headed Flying-foxes Pteropus poliocephalus requiring rescue and rehabilitation. Prolonged drought and intense bushfires reduced available foraging resources for the Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby Petrogale penicillata and Mountain Pygmy-possum Burramys parvus. Corporations donated produce to feed flying-foxes in care and provide supplementary feeding for wild populations of rock-wallabies and pygmy-possums. Local businesses and organisations also supplied resources, funding and food storage capacity to support these conservation actions. The contributions from corporations, businesses and organisations in these case studies totalled more than $70,000.

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Biodiversity gains from efficient use of private sponsorship for flagship species conservation

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2014.2693 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 282 (1805) ◽

pp. 20142693 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Joseph R. Bennett ◽

Richard Maloney ◽

Hugh P. Possingham

Keyword(s):

Threatened Species ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Flagship Species ◽

Ancillary Benefits ◽

Private Funding ◽

Additional Species ◽

Private Sponsorship ◽

Hypothetical Scenario ◽

Conservation Actions ◽

Private Donations

To address the global extinction crisis, both efficient use of existing conservation funding and new sources of funding are vital. Private sponsorship of charismatic ‘flagship’ species conservation represents an important source of new funding, but has been criticized as being inefficient. However, the ancillary benefits of privately sponsored flagship species conservation via actions benefiting other species have not been quantified, nor have the benefits of incorporating such sponsorship into objective prioritization protocols. Here, we use a comprehensive dataset of conservation actions for the 700 most threatened species in New Zealand to examine the potential biodiversity gains from national private flagship species sponsorship programmes. We find that private funding for flagship species can clearly result in additional species and phylogenetic diversity conserved, via conservation actions shared with other species. When private flagship species funding is incorporated into a prioritization protocol to preferentially sponsor shared actions, expected gains can be more than doubled. However, these gains are consistently smaller than expected gains in a hypothetical scenario where private funding could be optimally allocated among all threatened species. We recommend integrating private sponsorship of flagship species into objective prioritization protocols to sponsor efficient actions that maximize biodiversity gains, or wherever possible, encouraging private donations for broader biodiversity goals.

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Implications of changing species definitions for conservation purposes

Bird Conservation International ◽

10.1017/s0959270907000809 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 187-195 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Stephen T. Garnett ◽

Les Christidis

Keyword(s):

Social Contract ◽

Threatened Species ◽

Related Species ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

Species Concepts ◽

Fund Management ◽

The Social ◽

International Conventions ◽

Species Definitions

AbstractConcern has been expressed that failure to adopt phylogenetic or related species concepts will result in biodiversity loss. Here we describe how widespread adoption of such concepts may affect conservation administration and the social contract with elected governments that fund management of threatened species. We then review threatened species legislation, showing that most laws and international conventions avoid arguments over species' definitions altogether, thus negating arguments that such definitions should be changed to further species' conservation.

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Protecting an icon: Javan rhinoceros frontline management and conservation

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s003060531900139x ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Steven Graham Wilson ◽

Duan Biggs ◽

Salit Kark

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Threatened Species ◽

National Park ◽

Staff Perceptions ◽

Frontline Staff ◽

Management Actions ◽

Conservation Actions ◽

In The Wild ◽

Anthropogenic Threats ◽

Management And Conservation

Abstract Managers of threatened species in remote protected areas play a pivotal role in shaping the outcomes of management and conservation programmes. The island of Java supports the last remaining population of the Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus, a Critically Endangered megaherbivore with only 72 individuals persisting in the wild, in Ujung Kulon National Park. Substantial resources are being invested to manage the Javan rhinoceros and it is difficult to monitor it in the rainforest to assess whether management actions have been successful. Insights from frontline staff into the outcomes of past conservation actions and the future actions required may be key to enhancing the outcomes of conservation actions for threatened species. To study the perceptions of frontline staff towards the conservation of the Javan rhinoceros, management actions and their outcomes, we surveyed all 36-frontline staff in Ujung Kulon National Park. Although staff perceptions of conservation outcomes were generally positive, they noted key anthropogenic threats and challenges to rhinoceros protection inherent to the survival of the last Javan rhinoceros population. Staff identified increased threat of disease transfer from domestic stock to the rhinoceros, in spite of protective fencing, and the combined effects of illegal firewood collection and agricultural encroachment on rhinoceros habitat. Systematically recording and incorporating the perceptions of frontline staff in remote and often inaccessible protected areas can help identify important areas for future conservation and threat mitigation that can facilitate better protection for the Javan rhinoceros and other iconic species.

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New troglobitic species of Xangoniscus (Isopoda: Styloniscidae) from Brazil, with notes on their habitats and threats

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4819.1.4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4819 (1) ◽

pp. 84-108

Author(s):

GIOVANNA MONTICELLI CARDOSO ◽

RAFAELA BASTOS-PEREIRA ◽

LEILA APARECIDA SOUZA ◽

RODRIGO LOPES FERREIRA

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

New Species ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Water Table ◽

Threatened Species ◽

Minas Gerais ◽

Food Resources ◽

Water Table Level ◽

Conservation Actions ◽

Surrounding Landscape

In the present work, five new species of Xangoniscus are described, increasing to eight the number of the known troglobitic species for the genus. Xangoniscus species can be distinguished from each other by the shape of pleonites epimera, the number and size of aesthetascs in the distal article of antennula, the modifications on pereopods, the shape of male pleopods and the proportion between uropod rami. Species from this genus are known for the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia with Xangoniscus aganju representing the northernmost occurrence, and X. lundi n. sp. and X. dagua n. sp. the southernmost occurrences. Of the six caves where specimens were collected, four are not registered in the national speleological database, what points to all the potential to yet be discovered regarding number of cavities and the associated biodiversity in Brazil. Some of the here mentioned type localities are not located inside protected areas, therefore exposing the species to risks related to the adjacent land use and consequent influence on water table level and input of food resources. The contribution of this work with descriptions of new troglobitic species provides support to consider them as plausible candidates to be assessed in the next list of threatened species as well as to elaborate conservation actions for the species, the caves where they inhabit and the surrounding landscape.

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Gap analyses of priority wild relatives of food crop in current ex situ and in situ conservation in Indonesia

Biodiversity and Conservation ◽

10.1007/s10531-021-02225-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wiguna Rahman ◽

Joana Magos Brehm ◽

Nigel Maxted ◽

Jade Phillips ◽

Aremi R. Contreras-Toledo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Protected Area ◽

In Situ Conservation ◽

Wild Relatives ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Area Network ◽

Complementarity Analysis ◽

Ex Situ Collections ◽

Conservation Actions

AbstractConservation programmes are always limited by available resources. Careful planning is therefore required to increase the efficiency of conservation and gap analysis can be used for this purpose. This method was used to assess the representativeness of current ex situ and in situ conservation actions of 234 priority crop wild relatives (CWR) in Indonesia. This analysis also included species distribution modelling, the creation of an ecogeographical land characterization map, and a complementarity analysis to identify priorities area for in situ conservation and for further collecting of ex situ conservation programmes. The results show that both current ex situ and in situ conservation actions are insufficient. Sixty-six percent of priority CWRs have no recorded ex situ collections. Eighty CWRs with ex situ collections are still under-represented in the national genebanks and 65 CWRs have no presence records within the existing protected area network although 60 are predicted to exist in several protected areas according to their potential distribution models. The complementarity analysis shows that a minimum of 61 complementary grid areas (complementary based on grid cells) are required to conserve all priority taxa and 40 complementary protected areas (complementary based on existing protected areas) are required to conserve those with known populations within the existing in situ protected area network. The top ten of complementary protected areas are proposed as the initial areas for the development of CWR genetic reserves network in Indonesia. It is recommended to enhanced coordination between ex situ and in situ conservation stakeholders for sustaining the long term conservation of CWR in Indonesia. Implementation of the research recommendations will provide for the first time an effective conservation planning of Indonesia’s CWR diversity and will significantly enhance the country’s food and nutritional security.

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Conservation-Status Gaps for Marine Top-Fished Commercial Species

Fishes ◽

10.3390/fishes7010002 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 2

Author(s):

Imanol Miqueleiz ◽

Rafael Miranda ◽

Arturo Hugo Ariño ◽

Elena Ojea

Keyword(s):

Fish Species ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

Vulnerability Index ◽

Iucn Red List ◽

Red List ◽

Commercial Fish ◽

Commercial Species ◽

Marine Realm

Biodiversity loss is a global problem, accelerated by human-induced pressures. In the marine realm, one of the major threats to species conservation, together with climate change, is overfishing. In this context, having information on the conservation status of target commercial marine fish species becomes crucial for assuring safe standards. We put together fisheries statistics from the FAO, the IUCN Red List, FishBase, and RAM Legacy databases to understand to what extent top commercial species’ conservation status has been assessed. Levels of assessment for top-fished species were higher than those for general commercial or highly commercial species, but almost half of the species have outdated assessments. We found no relation between IUCN Red List traits and FishBase Vulnerability Index, depreciating the latter value as a guidance for extinction threat. The RAM database suggests good management of more-threatened species in recent decades, but more data are required to assess whether the trend has reverted in recent years. Outdated IUCN Red List assessments can benefit from reputed stock assessments for new reassessments. The future of IUCN Red List evaluations for commercial fish species relies on integrating new parameters from fisheries sources and improved collaboration with fisheries stakeholders and managers.

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